Neighbor Mason was on hand to witness the opening of an ad-hoc time capsule on Bocana last week:
Last Friday at 305 Bocana, a garage was opened to reveal a collection of cars (and parts) owned by the late Edward Cicero, longtime Bernal butcher and possibly the founder of what is now Avedanos. (Factcheck please!) His son, Edward Jr, and grandson Steve just sold this stunning yellow ’59 Cadillac and were moving it outward and onward to its new owner.
To my surprise, there were two late 30’s Packards stashed in the other garage bay, and even a transaxle for Ford Model A. We remain excited to see what will take the Cadillac’s place, as apparently Mr. Cicero was an avid collector of metal, and there are several other examples of his curatorial prowess in other undisclosed locations.
Some interesting facts divined by yours truly:
- This 1959 Caddy’s wheelbase (130″) can accommodate the length of an entire Smart car (98″) with an electric bike on a rear bike rack (18″) and still have 18″ left over for a clean parking job.
- This 1959 Caddy’s engine 390 cubic inches is over ten times that of a Smart car (36cui).
- The Smart Car boasts a passenger area of 45.4 cubic feet. While certainly impressive, this is only slightly larger than the capacity of the Caddy’s fuel tank (42.29 cu ft).
PHOTOS: Mason Kirby
Bernalwood 
Wow! That is brilliant! And in gorgeous shape, too! I wonder how much they sold it for?!
I definitely would not want to have to pull that in and out of that narrow garage, however.
Had my precious ’68 Plymouth Fury – a giant, super-wide car – stored in our garage for several years, and to put it in and take it out, we needed to put the rear end on a wheeled jack to angle it just so (bet the Caddy needed similar help.) Literally two inches on either side! Quite the spectacle – and not a single scratche or dent! Sold it (cue the tears) when I had my first child, and bought a boring-by-comparison Audi sedan.
Yeah, I had an old Checker Marathon (well, A11E, technically) that was my daily driver for years when I first moved to Bernal Heights. It is almost as big as the Caddy (129″ wheelbase, 219″ overall), but luckily my garage is not quite as narrow as the one this Cadillac was cocooned in.
Also, keep in mind that the WHEELBASE of a car is just the space between the center of the axles. The overall length of a 1959 Cadillac is 225 inches. So that’s TWO smart cars (though only one can leave their bike rack on.)
excellent stuff, looks to be in great condition too.
OMG! And a convertible, to boot! Wow! That it has been garaged all this time is great for the condition of the vehicle. Had a friend who restored oldies like this…they were truly works of art. Someone is going to have a fab ride. I never seem to be at the right place at the right time – rats!
that interior is amazing. I would never be able to get in the driveway…or, at least, back out.
-e
I chatted with grandson Steve while they were waiting for a truck to pick up this beauty. It sold for about $30K. I reckon that with about $30K more in restoration, it could sell for north of $100K.
The Packards are pristine.
Factcheck delivery!
Edward Cicero Sr. operated the butcher shop that became Avedano’s beginning in 1957. Immediately prior to that, 235 Cortland housed the Holly Park Meat Market, operated by WG Zuelow.
City directories show Edward Cicero operating Cicero’s Meats at 235 Cortland from 1958 on (currently I can’t see forward past 1981, when my records end), but for this entire time period, it lists his residence as being in Redwood City. In the 50s, Robert M Cicero (his brother, perhaps?) worked at Cicero’s as a meat cutter and he lived in the neighborhood less than two blocks away at 212 Bennington.
Checking the residents (not necessarily owners, obviously) of 305 Bocana through the years, I see that a string of different people live at 305 Bocana all the way into the 70s, so presumably it was a rental house (unless it was selling every few years) But then, after 21 years of commuting from Redwood City to Bernalwood, Edward finally gave it up and bought a place in the neighborhood, moving into 305 Bocana in 1978.
Brad Thompson
http://www.pastmapper.com
Factcheck delivery!
Edward Cicero Sr. operated the butcher shop that became Avedano’s beginning in 1957. Immediately prior to that, 235 Cortland housed the Holly Park Meat Market, operated by WG Zuelow.
City directories show Edward Cicero operating Cicero’s Meats at 235 Cortland from 1958 on (currently I can’t see forward past 1981, when my records end), but for this entire time period, it lists his residence as being in Redwood City. In the 50s, Robert M Cicero (his brother, perhaps?) worked at Cicero’s as a meat cutter and he lived in the neighborhood less than two blocks away at 212 Bennington.
Checking the residents (not necessarily owners, obviously) of 305 Bocana through the years, I see that a string of different people live at 305 Bocana into the 70s, so presumably it was a rental (unless it was selling every few years) But then, after 21 years of commuting from Redwood City to Bernalwood, Edward finally gave it up and bought a place in the neighborhood, moving into 305 Bocana in 1978.
uuuugh, HDR photography hurts my brain. It’s a car, not a cartoon! Take a normal pictures so we can see what it actually looks like!
Really, the caddy has a 314 gallon fuel tank ( = 42 ft^3) ? Evan at its estimated 10 MPG, you could drive from Bernalwood to New York on one tank of gas. The gas would weigh more than the smart car (~1800 lbs).
Oh, you meant the gas tank was 42 gallons? That would be 6 cubic feet, or about half the *luggage* volume of a smart car.